Several weeks ago, I participated in a first-of-its kind Culinary Exploration Workshop at the Culinary Institute of America Greystone in California where I demonstrated my recipe for a Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Chestnut Soup. It was an incredible honor to be part of this event and I am still trying to absorb all that I took in during the two-day session.

Eight chefs (including me) demonstrated low-fat, low-salt recipes, which were all tasted and deliberated upon. The idea was to share and to collaborate ideas among all the folks at the workshop, with the goal of improving upon our recipes, while maintaining low levels of fat and salt in our recipes.

The Culinary Exploration Workshop was featured in the New York Times (my debut) and you can see the highlights in this video (you can see me in action).

I made a Creamy Roasted Cauliflower and Chestnut Soup, which was described in the New York Times article as the following: “Ms. Chen prepared a silken cream of cauliflower soup using chestnuts in place of the cream. It totally fooled the mouth into believing the soup contained a dairy product of some sort.”

Chefs Talbot, Plum, Briwa and me

Chef Beau MacMillan and me

Over the next few months, I plan on exploring cooking techniques that I’ve never tried or have perhaps just dipped my feet in. I’ll be sharing some of my experiments with you right here on Jeanette’s Healthy Living. I believe there are certain cooking techniques and ingredients that can play a role in creating more flavorful foods while remaining healthy.

For example, by using different and perhaps multiple cooking techniques, I might be able to impart richer, deeper flavor into leaner proteins that are otherwise bland. And by using ingredients I’ve never tried, I might be able to create flavors and textures to make eating more pleasurable for those who have trouble chewing and swallowing.

Jeanette’s Healthy Living has always been a place for me to experiment and I hope you’ll follow along in my continual journey to learn more about developing healthy foods that pack a punch in flavor using whole ingredients.

Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Chestnut Soup

The final version that I presented of this soup included some lightly toasted pine nuts, celery root and parsnips in place of half the potatoes. The result was a creamier texture with more complex flavor.

Comments

oh this is such a good thing….soup is darn good…without the recipe we would have believed it to be full of cream and substituting half the potatoes is such an innovative idea….all in all this is a rewarding soup….healthy,creamy and nourishing…..waiting for more healthful creations from ur adorable blog 🙂

Thanks Julie, it was such an amazing experience, lots of things for me to mull upon and work on over the next several months. I’m really excited about everything I took away and looking forward to trying all sorts of new things.

Your cauliflower soup sounds wonderful and I would like to try it soon. I’m a little confused about the chestnuts. Did you roast them in shell and then shell them or buy them another way? Looking forward to future tips. Many thanks

I’m intrigued by the ingredients and can almost taste the delicious result already! You mentioned, “add onion and leek” in the directions but I don’t see the leek(s) listed in the ingredients. 1 leek? 2? Since I can’t wait to taste your yummy-looking soup, I’ll use at least 1 leek unless you direct otherwise. Thank you for your website. Although I’ve been cooking for many years, I’m new to gluten-free cooking. Having already tried several of your recipes to wonderful accolades (my husband’s) I’m looking forward to cooking for my sister-in-law who has been G-F for years and counts fats, sat fats in particular. Your recipes fit her diet perfectly.

Carol, I hope you enjoy this soup. I used one leek and have corrected the recipe – thanks for the catch. Glad you have found my recipes helpful – I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Happy cooking!